Harry Potter and the Infinity Matrix
by Panser Dragoon
Summary: Harry Potter was the chosen one, but magical accidents are always catastrophic in scale and when Harry is thrown into a war in which there is no prophecy, he has to ask, who is the chosen one now? And how is he to figure out which side he's on?
1. Incident Zero

Harry Potter and the Infinity Matrix

Harry ducked blindly, the heat from the curse scorching his scalp as it rushed past, an inch off its target. He pivoted hard on the spot, spinning away from a ugly yellow curse before brandishing his wand and launching a stunner hard at Lucius Malfoy. Lucius batted the curse aside easily and sneered at him before rapidly leaping back from the concussion hex that Sirius had launched. A huge blast knocked Harry sideways off the Dias and he quickly scrabbled to his feet, lunging towards the minor cover provided by the stone steps.

The battle in the Death Chamber had turned to utter chaos, Order members and Death Eaters where trading curses at blinding speeds and Harry had enough time to feel a sinking feeling of shame; he had thought the DA's retreat through the department had been going well... The escalating battle in front of him just proved that the Death Eaters had been toying with them all along. He quickly flicked out another stunner at Dolohov which was effortlessly parried before leaping up the stone steps of the amphitheatre, desperately trying to reach where he hoped his friends where.

Despite his focus, he was distracted by the sound of Bellatrix cackling madly. He turned for just a second, having only a moment to register Sirius mocking his cousin before he saw the killing curse form. Sirius' eyes widened in shock and in the split second before the curse hit him he dove to the side, flinging himself into space. The curse rippled Sirius' jacket as it past before striking the crumbling arch of the veil. Rather than shattering the strange device, there was a titanic boom and the curse deflected sideways, heading straight at Harry who, flatfooted, could only stare in shock as Sirius' agonised yell of denial echoed around the room and the world went black.

Pain. Deep lancing pain flickered through every nerve in his body. It was strangely similar to being under the Cruciatus curse. Desperately Harry attempted to move, scream, anything to diminish the agony that tore through him. With an almost perverse lethargy, his eyelids cracked open and Harry realised he had gone insane. Deep aquamarine eyes framed by flowing golden locks looked down at him critically. There was no other explanation; even the worst levels of hell would not force him to suffer waking up to the sight of Lockhart.

''He's waking up sir...'

Harry craned his neck, enormous world dimming pain shot through him at the movement, but he managed to move his head slightly and immediately began to scream in horror as he looked into the face of Lord Voldemort. The world faded once more into merciful blackness.

Harry opened his eyes. Pain? Lots, but not unbearable. Nightmarish visions of Lockhart and Voldemort? Nope. Giving a relieved sigh, he lifted himself up on his elbows and scanned the room. It was fairly small, but very personalised. Random possessions and books covered every available surface, all of it inscrutably neatly stacked and in their places. Whoever owned this room valued their possessions and was inordinately tidy, that was for sure. Harry allowed his paranoid side to take over and he quickly scanned the room from a danger standpoint. He immediately noticed the door was heavy and banded with iron with a large keyhole, probably locked knowing his luck. There was also a conspicuous absence of a window. The ceiling sloped down ending only a foot above the bed giving a slightly oppressive feeling and a large ornate foe glass dominated the far wall, shadowy figures clearly moving in the fog.

Harry swung his legs over onto the floor and was preparing to stand when the door swung open.

'Ah, Harry, I see you're finally awake.'

Harry looked up and felt reality tilting away once more as he met Voldemort's gaze, so much for being a dream... Knowing he had potentially only seconds to live, he quickly decided to go on the offensive, leaping to his feet as he reached into his pocket praying for the feeling of his wand. Instead he felt a cracking pain, as if he had been pole axed, as his leap carried his head straight into the stone ceiling. He wavered slightly before toppling forward, the sight of Voldemort rushing forward the last thing he saw.

He felt himself slowly coming round, this time still with searing pain where he had struck his head. Carefully he climbed out of bed and staggered forward. He was still in the same room so it was safe to assume Voldemort had been real and he was now a prisoner. He quickly patted himself down and was utterly astonished to find his wand actually in his pocket. Death eater incompetence was apparently endless. Not wasting time to complain about his incredible good luck, he flicked out an unlocking charm and carefully opened the door. There was no one outside so he swiftly ghosted into the corridor and moved silently down the hall.

The passageway was lined with identical doors to the one he had just left and not wanting to risk running straight into some death eaters bedroom, he held his course until the corridor opened up into what seemed to be a large storeroom. Large barrels and crates of various supplies were stacked in neatly organised rows, everything from food to random gadgets, even one small box that appeared to be filled with second hand wands. Harry immediately spotted a barrel containing a few dozen brooms and quickly acquired the least battered looking one. It wasn't in his nature to pass up opportunities as golden as this, especially when it came to survival.

He darted down another abandoned corridor and quickly jogged up the first staircase he saw, emerging into the open night air. It was immediately obvious why his ceiling had been sloped, he was stood on the side of what appeared to be a large mist shrouded hill. He quickly mounted his broom and was about to attempt to disillusion himself when he heard a twig snap.

Lockhart was staring in shock at him, wand held loosely at his side. _Damn_, Harry thought, _I had hoped at least he was a dream..._ He immediately hurled out his strongest stunner and was amazed when the usually incompetent Lockhart smashed it from the air, parrying so fast his wand was a blur. He hesitated to counterattack though and Harry immediately leapt into the air, launching his broom to its maximum speed straight up into the fog. He ignored the sounds of shouting alarms below him and quickly pulled out his wand.

''Point me Hogwarts!' Harry hissed. His wand spun on his open palm before pointing slightly to his left. Harry steered and immediately lay flat, pushing every ounce of speed possible into his getaway. He had absolutely no intention of getting recaptured.

He was beginning to shiver from the freezing temperatures, he had initially been glad for the cover of darkness but after over an hour of flying he was beginning to lament the temperature. He had attempted to fly lower, seeking warmer climates but had had to pull up sharply when he found himself about to plough into a large body of water. There was no moonlight to guide him and the fog, while no longer thick and oppressive as it had been on the hill, was still present. There was no way to tell if he was flying over the sea or had just skimmed a lake and he didn't want to get wet testing the idea so he just kept going, periodically checking his wand with the point me spell.

Harry felt a sudden tingling and looked up and gave an audible cry of relief. There, shining in the darkness was the jewel that was Hogwarts, its towers and parapets glowing softly from the light within. Harry immediately angled down to land on the sweeping lawn and found himself caught on a strange web like patch of air. He panicked, struggling in midair against the alien sensation before finally slipping through and landing haphazardly on the grass. _What the HELL was that!_ He allowed himself to just lie for a moment, attempting to get over the shock. He had never flown a broom into Hogwarts before and now was combing his memory for any instance where Hermione may have mentioned the castles defences against such an entry. Coming up short, he shrugged and hauled himself back to his feet, hurrying towards the slightly ajar main doors.

He sighed as a wave of warmth flowed over him stepping into the entrance hall. The familiar sound of dinner time rippled through the open doors of the main hall and he smiled widely as he strode through to reunite with his friends. The hall immediately fell silent as he entered, every student staring at him in shock. Slightly intimidated, Harry avoided eye contact and scanned the Gryffindor table for Ron and Hermione. They weren't there. Feeling a strangled sense of panic working its way up his throat again he looked up at Dumbledore, hoping for reassurance and an explanation. It wasn't to be, the Headmaster was staring at him in open shock, jaw hanging uselessly.

'Sir...?'

Harry never managed to get out the rest of his sentence as Dumbledore immediately brandished his wand and roared out his spell.

'Avada Kedavra!'

_I'm well aware how terrible I am at updating my stories, I'm a full time honours student and any free time I get away from studying is usually invested in catching up on sleep. This story has been bouncing around my head for a good few months now and while I have the beginning and end pretty much sorted, the concept for the central filler still has a few holes. I'm hesitant to post this first chapter knowing I could well never finish it, but I've nearly completed my degree and summer approaches. Maybe I'll get it finished, who knows, maybe some talented beta would be willing to take my draft notes for the plot and continue it in the event of my absence, we'll just have to see. Normally I care very little for reviews, I appreciate the thoughts and constructive criticism though I don't get upset or depressed if I don't get any, but I have come to the belief that the more feedback I get, the more effort I find myself putting towards a story. I'm far more inclined to give up free time with my flatmates to write if I think there's a couple of fans out there who'll get some good honest enjoyment out of the results of my labour. I enjoy writing but I enjoy knowing people are having a good time as a result of something I've created more. So if you think this idea has some potential and want me to continue go ahead and review, it really will make a difference and I may actually find myself committed enough to write that majestic and epic finale that I have planned. I'm almost tempted to skip ahead to write it but what good are endings without a beginning and a middle to define them? _

_On another note, I also feel that this first chapter is painfully underdeveloped. In the interest of keeping my brief spurt of writing energy going (It's two in the morning and I should be preparing my honours project presentation right now) I forced myself to keep things short and to the point. If I start spending hours on each section I'll rapidly lose interest so if there's a Harry Potter fanatic Beta out there who has similar taste in fanfics as I do,( Meteoricshipyards, Dobbyelflord, Jbern, Nonjon and Blot, and all the other truly elite writers out there) I would be extremely willing and grateful to share this story with them for error checking and, if there's a person out there with more dedication and time than me, to go through each chapter adding in detail and flesh to this bare bones of a tale, I would actually sign over my first born child to you :P_

_Cheers guys, hopefully you wont see another Authors note until that fabled ending, I hope we make it there, it really is a goodun! Well, it is in my head at least..._

_Mat_


	2. Of Swords and Demons

Harry Potter and the Infinity Matrix

_Aeareanine:_ Chapter 1: Of Swords and Demons.

It may have sounded cliché but it was Harry's Quidditch training that saved him. Long years of being trained to instinctively dodge high speed harmful projectiles kicked in and his body immediately lunged sideways, hurling himself to the floor as the killing curse hissed malevolently by, scorching a massive patch of the floor behind him. Harry looked up in shock and met Dumbledore's eye. There was nothing but hatred and raw fury there. For a moment Harry was so shocked that he was immobilised but as Dumbledore swept up his wand in an elegant twisting motion, he scrambled to his feet and zigzagged towards the entrance hall. Streaks of cursed fire billowed past him, scorching his clothes but miraculously not catching his skin.

He ducked round the side of the door frame, a barrage of curses following him through and immediately had to cast off his robes which had began to burn with black flame. There was a swell of noise as Dumbledore roared with fury and Harry heard the unmistakeable noise of benches scraping back, the students and teachers getting up. Harry had always taken pride in his instincts, they'd saved him before countless times and if the magical world had taught him anything it was to trust his intuition. And right now his intuition was screaming at him to run because he didn't think anyone in that hall had gotten up to ask the Headmaster politely to stop.

Making up his mind instantly, he conjured his strongest magical shield and sprinted for the front door of the school. He almost made it. Dumbledore, flanked by scores of students strode into the hall and brandished his wand like a whip. Harry took the bludgeoning curse straight in the small of the back, his shield diffusing the impact enough to save his spine but not enough to prevent him being hurled from the building like a skittle. Ironically it was Dumbledore's curse that probably saved Harry's life from the blaze of spell fire that was fired a second later by the student body.

Harry landed heavily on his knees 20 feet out on the lawn. He would have screamed with pain at what felt like thousands of weights sinking into the flesh of his back, but again instinct took over. He gritted his teeth and immediately began to run as fast as he could towards the gate. He was once again blessing the moonless misty night as torrents of flashing light arced through the air a couple even skimming across the surface of his reconstructed shield.

'Spread out fools! We'll corner him at the gate!'

Harry felt the blood draining from his face as he heard Dumbledore's order. The 30 foot wall was ahead and the gate was closed, in a matter of seconds he was going to be trapped. His mind began ticking over a mile a minute, desperately searching for an escape plan as his retreat grew steadily shorter and shorter. With a flash of hope he remembered his broom, that wonderful, wonderful scabby broom he had stolen from Voldemort's hideout and promptly placed... In the entrance hall... _Ahhh fuck..._

Harry resigned himself to his fate and was preparing to turn and fight when a shout rang across the grounds.

'Harry!'

He looked up and almost groaned in horror. There on the far side of the gate was Gilderoy Lockhart, hapless excuse for a wizard and, apparently, a Death Eater. He kept running though, even Lockhart was better than nothing when a seemingly insane Dumbledore was chasing him. There was a brief shifting motion behind Lockhart then a massive crash sounded through the night.

Twisted lumps of metal from the gate spun towards him, narrowly passing by on either side as an enormous uprooted tree was slammed into them at subsonic speed. There, wand holding the tree aloft, was Voldemort. _Fuck this, _Harry thought_, I'd rather face Dumbledore! _He spun, fully intending to rush back to the relative safety of the mob that was rapidly bearing down on him when he felt a hook in the belt of his jeans and he was yanked backwards hard and landed in a tangle at Voldemort's feet.

'What in Merlin's name are you paying at! Get out of here Harry! Gilderoy, get him out!'

Harry scrabbled backwards desperately trying to get some distance between him and the dark lord but Lockhart seized him roughly by the arm and yanked him to his feet, stretching out a hand to place on Voldemort's shoulder

'I can't leave you here Thomas...'

Voldemort cut him off and shoved him roughly backwards towards the road to Hogsmeade.

'Go! I can hold Dumbledore for a few moments, just get Harry out and run! That's an order!'

Lockhart hovered for a second, as if memorising the features of his companion before turning and breaking into a loping run, dragging Harry with him as they retreated from the shattered gate. Harry winced as he was roughly pulled down the road then cried out in pain as resonating titanic words rippled through the air. Behind them Voldemort was drawing a massive spell into being with the few seconds available before the horde from Hogwarts reached the gates and the powerful incantations rippled and tore the fabric of the air as they cut into Harry's eardrums. The spell was so powerful he couldn't even understand the words being used. There was a massive roar and a blaze of heat rolled over Harry and Lockhart as they fled and suddenly screams echoed through the night behind them. Neither of them looked back.

They were about halfway to Hogsmeade and drawing very close to the edge of the school grounds when a sickly blaze of purple light cut through the air towards them. Acting almost simultaneously, Lockhart and Harry threw themselves down to avoid the curse, then immediately leapt back up wands drawn.

'Well lookee here Fred! Looks like we caught a couple of slimy spies trying to escape!'

'So we have George, no we wouldn't want that would we. They'd just go and smear their filth where it's not wanted.'

Harry's jaw dropped as the Weasley twins stepped out of the shadows and into the light of the inferno occurring down the road. Both had their wands trained on the wizards before them as Lockhart was quickly switching between the two, trying to cover both of them at once. Harry's wand hung uselessly by his side.

'It seems to me that where we're least wanted is right here.'

Lockhart narrowed his eyes at the twins and continued.

'Step aside and we'll remove ourselves with no bloodshed.'

Fred started laughing uncontrollably, a sick mad laughter that dug deep at some vital part of Harry. This was too much, capture by Voldemort was one thing and seeing Dumbledore lead a furious rampage was even worse but he could never have imagined the twins like this, looking so insane so... evil. His instincts were screaming at him to run, attack, anything! Warning him that these weren't the same twins he considered as good as brothers and that he was in very great danger, but for once he didn't listen and just stared in horror at the pair before him. A twisted smirk slowly spread across George's face and he twitched his wand in Lockhart's direction.

'Sorry blondie but that isn't an option I'm afraid.'

Fred sniggered and recovered from his laughing spree.

'Yeah, we know one place where you are wanted after all.'

Lockhart raised one eyebrow delicately at the twins.

'And where would that be exactly?'

Both twins assumed identical manic grins that weren't remotely amusing. It was then that Harry realised they didn't just seem different, they looked different. He couldn't place why but their body and facial structure was slightly... broader than he remembered. He didn't have time to ponder on the realisation though because the twins were already answering, in an eerie simultaneous duet.

'Unmarked graves of course!'

Both immediately opened fire with lances of purple fire from their wands but Lockhart was faster. He immediately stepped left so he slightly covered Harry and flung his wand hand high in a slashing diagonal motion. A shimmering blue bubble immediately expanded, completely obscuring both of them and the purple flames instantly rebounded straight for the twins. Fred shrieked as the arm of his robes immediately caught alight while George neatly sidestepped and severed Lockhart's shield with a sundering ward breaker spell.

He immediately followed it up with a bolt of yellow that Harry didn't recognise that Lockhart knocked aside with a deflective body shield. Harry's wand still hung uselessly at his side, he was still too shocked to move. Fred was still beating at his arm trying to put out the cursed fire while George and Lockhart exchanged a brief flurry of furious spells until George reeled backwards, a thin cut sliced across his cheek.

He furiously spun and aimed at Harry while Lockhart was still conjuring a shield for the expected counterattack.

'Avada Kedavra!'

Harry still couldn't move as the death curse formed and shot at him. This wasn't like in the great hall, his usual instinctive dodging had faded into the background in the absurdity of the situation and he was completely incapable of responding. Luckily he didn't have to. Lockhart slammed into his side, roughly throwing both of them down and the green light sailed overhead harmlessly. George shrieked in rage and advanced hurling curses which Lockhart desperately parried as he attempted to regain his feet. Still Harry didn't move, he didn't even have his wand now, Lockhart's tackle had knocked it from his grasp. Finally one of George's banishers smashed through Lockhart's guard and blasted him back into a tree. George hesitated and looked down at Harry, contempt and hate roiling in his eyes.

'I think the liability should be first.'

George turned his wand onto Harry.

'Crucio!'

Pain. He had been in so much pain lately that he would have argued that he would be getting used to it. Sadly such philosophy was worthless against the unforgiveable. Every pain receptor in Harry's body went into overdrive and he thrashed, screaming on the path as George held the torture curse on him. Abruptly the pain ended, though the sounds of screams didn't. Harry looked up dazed to see George clutching a bleeding stump several inches below his elbow where his hand used to be. Lockhart stood over Harry, a bloodstained sword held ready in his grasp. He watched coolly as George staggered backwards before being seized by Fred who had finally managed to extinguish himself.

'Phoenix Fire Activate!'

There was a flash of light accompanying Fred's words and both twins had vanished, leaving behind George's severed hand and wand. Lockhart growled in disgust.

'Portkey... Figures...'

He stepped forward and stamped on George's fallen wand, snapping it in two along with a couple of stray fingers from the hand. He waved his own wand briefly, cleaning his sword and summoning Harry's wand which he held out to the boy who still lay on the ground.

'Harry?'

Lockhart narrowed his eyes in confusion and leaned forward.

'What is wrong with you? Whatever is going on you need to snap out of it, we have to escape!'

Harry's brain finally switched back on, he took back his offered wand with a shaking hand then staggered to his feet. Lockhart gave a brief grim smile that looked horrendously out of place on his almost artistic features, sheathed his sword in a carefully concealed scabbard under his cloak and seized Harry's arm before they set out again.

Harry stumbled along behind Lockhart, still in a state of severe shock as they finally arrived in Hogsmead.

'Over here...'

Lockhart dragged Harry under the eaves of a nearby house and they shrank into the shadows. Harry desperately wanted to ask what they were doing but his instincts were thrumming on high alert and he wisely kept quiet. Several groups of people passed by, clearly search parties but they did not see the pair concealed in the darkness. Finally a lone figure approached, deeply wrapped in a long cloak. A familiar hissing voice came from under the hood.

'Gilderoy! Harry! Are you guys okay?'

'No worse for wear, I assure you my friend.'

Harry had realised who the voice belonged to however and cut Lockhart off.

'Neville!'

His shocked exclamation was too loud though. Shouts immediately came from a trio of cloaked figures down the street who swiftly drew their wands and started to run towards them.

'Fuck Harry! Do either of you know where Tom is!'

'Right here Mr Longbottom'.

Harry turned and had to stifle another scream as Voldemort calmly appeared and laid a hand on his shoulder, the other stretched out into the middle of the group, completely ignoring the rapidly approaching guards.

'The Portkey Neville, with haste please.'

Neville quickly reached into his cloak and immediately pulled out a large hoop. Voldemort immediately placed a hand on it followed immediately by Lockhart who quickly tapped it with his wand. Attached through Voldemort's grip on his shoulder Harry was dragged into the vortex of the Portkey with his three companions just as three blazes of light streaked through the area they had previously occupied.

The Portkey vortex was even more unpleasant as usual as he lacked direct contact with the device itself and when they landed he predictably slammed to his already abused knees. Harry staggered slowly to his feet and looked up at the three silhouettes of his companions, their outlines just visible in the darkness. Voldemort turned to look at him and smiled and for the first time Harry realised that he had a nose and his eyes weren't red.

'Welcome back Harry, to Aeareanine.'

Harry looked past Voldemort seeing nothing, then followed Lockhart and Neville's gazes and looked into the sky.

Harry swore.


End file.
